Whether you're an experienced actor or acting for the first
time and want to incorporate Stanislavski into your art
video separates the week from the chaff this is the ultimate Stanislavski guide
hello welcome to organic acting
I'm not gonna get into Stanislavski's background I've done that in other videos I know tragic right
suffice it to say Can Stanton Stanislavski wanted imaginary truth on stage he didn't
want pretending he didn't want an actor showing off he wanted actors to experience their roles
the simplest and most direct way you can do this is by working on the given circumstances of the
scene or more specifically the five W's who am I? where am I? why am I there? what time is it? and
finally what do I want? This very simple and straightforward list is one you can apply to
any scene or story beat why do you need to know these things how do the given circumstances help
you perform truthfully in your role well let's break it down. The who: who your character is.
The where: the geography of the scene. The why: what has gone on just before what has
led you to this moment or place. The time: the time of the scene.
These elements are important not just because they're the facts given by the writer but
they will completely transform how a scene is played and how you as an actor say your lines
think about it this way how your character speaks at a fairground at 8 pm would be completely
different to how they would speak at 4am in a graveyard given circumstances help the scene
lift from the page and become more realistic and engaging more akin to what we know is real life
but Chris I hear you say that was only four of the five W's what about the last one: what do I want?
And you're right this deserves its own mention as the last W's perhaps one of
the most important techniques in all of Stanislavski's system
knowing what your character wants what their objective is what they're aiming for is paramount
all characters want something all characters are driven to achieve something that want or
drive may change over the course of a plot but any character worth his or her salt has an objective
your job as an actor is to work out what that objective is that can be at
the beginning of the play the beginning of a scene the scene as a whole or the entire play
work out what your character wants and play that want the emotion the fear the anger the joy those
things will come naturally from you playing your character's objective. What do you want?
Stanislavski, naturalism, realism all these movements speak of a slice of life on stage put
simply that means there is a fourth wall if you're on stage there is no audience only the fourth wall
to the room you're in if you're acting in screen or television the same rule applies the crew and
the camera aren't there Stanislavski wanted actors to stop over acting to stop showing off
he wanted actors to realistically experience the imaginary life of the stage stop trying to show
off to your best friend sitting on the back row invest in the imaginary life around you
being an actor is sometimes like being a detective you're given a character a life a past a present
a future a big part of the evidence you need to sift through is the script and its facts
these facts not only tell you the character is but your character's relationship and attitude
to the people around them make a list of the following: all the things your character says
about themselves, all the things your character says about other characters, all the things
other characters say about your character What did he say?! Hey I didn't say that being the
Stanislavskian actor was easy there's a lot of work here if you take the time invest work all
this stuff out and write it down it pays dividends when you're off script and starting to perform
you will know your character's attitude towards others as well as the attitudes of the other
characters towards you it lifts your performance and the realism of the scene give it a try
creating an imaginary life on the stage is hard work this is why Stanislavski created not only a
system but a tool called the magic if the magic if allows you to say to yourself if this set of given
circumstances were true if my character were real if I were really sitting in a saloon in
19th century Wyoming how would I react the magic if doesn't force you to say this is real and I
must believe in it and if I don't I'm a bad actor the magic if invites you to play along and say I
know I'm an actor and I know I'm sat on a chair on a theatre stage but if this scene were real
how would they react in this moment if I said to you what would you do if a madman broke down
your door with an axe and forced his way inside your home you'd have an idea of how you'd react
if I said that madman really was outside of your front door right now you'd say to me
yeah whatever Chris don't be stupid it'd be difficult for you to suspend your disbelief
the magic if helps you to sidestep that try in any scene what if this were really happening
how would I react how would my character react. Here's Johnny!
Stanislavski wanted his actors to be fit, supple, expressive as a dancer would be he
wanted their voices to have the same qualities. Put simply look after yourself keep fit, healthy,
mobile, ready to use your physical tools to portray your next character effectively
keep your voice in good nick, drink plenty of water, exercise it, work on your diction and
voice control should the time come for you to perform on stage and send your words to
the back of the theatre time spent now on honing your equipment your body and voice will make you
a compelling performer and a Stanislavskian actor. Thanks for watching if you'd like to
support me further there's a super thanks button just below that allows you to contribute to the
channel and help me to keep creating fresh content. Help in other ways by liking this
video sharing it and subscribing I've been Chris and I will see you next time bye bye.